Beneath the Stone
by aerisgainsborough9
Summary: Sephiroth, "supposedly" disposes of AVALANCHE and kidnaps Aeris to use her power and fulfill his master plan. That was all. Until something goes awry in the scheme of things, and he begins to find a soft spot beneath his stone heart... AerisxSephirtoh


**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any Final Fantasy game or the characters. This piece of fiction is for entertainment purposes only. No profit was made.**

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**Beneath the Stone**

**Chapter One**

The woman struggled violently with all her might to break free of her captors grasp. Tossed over his shoulder, hanging like nothing more than a piece of baggage, she pounded her fists hard on his back and sent swift, solid kicks into his abdomen; the man did not even flinch. The harder she seemed to try the more he seemed to enjoy it. _Giving up won't get me free from him_ she heard herself think when she felt like all hope was lost. She was shaking she noticed and she could feel the hot sting of threatening tears in her eyes, the tight knots of fear coil in her stomach even as she fought hard to keep them from coming. She beat furiously again with all her might, this time digging her fingernails into his back, puncturing his skin. She felt his blood trickle down the tips of her fingers and with all the strength she could muster, pulled upward. The skin on his back made the sickly sound of flesh ripping open as she inflicted the lacerations. Once again, he did not even flinch. He continued to move forward, away from the disaster he had created naught five minutes prior, his silver hair flowing gently in the cool night air like a serene waterfall; mako infused eyes glowing with malicious intent, focused on the destination ahead.

Her heart began to sink down as she realized any attempt to fight this man would be futile efforts at best, even so, she had managed to keep herself out of trouble as a child and the defiance inside of her continued to push with all her strength on his shoulder in the flickering hope she could catch him off guard and free herself from his clutches. No use, his grip was too tight, his body too powerful, even if she managed to break free, what then? Would she take this man head on? Surely she would be killed in a blink of an eye. Her emerald green eyes closed tightly, now unable to fight the fear that over took her. Hot tears began running freely down her cheeks, stinging the few bloody gashes on her cream colored skin.

Aeris sobbed quietly as she looked on at the remains of the AVALANCHE camp in the distance, completely engulfed in a red hot inferno. The scene was horrible, the flames bearing the color of claimed blood. Unable to look on anymore, she closed her eyes tightly and found out quickly that this too was a mistake. The screams of her friends still echoed like quiet ghosts inside her mind. She could see them running in a state of shock, trying to act in the heat of the moment to take on the man who had deliberately caused the carnage. Though no matter how fast they could've acted it was no use. Sephiroth, her captor, had destroyed the entire camp in less than a minute with a simple wave of his hand.

What had become of her friends? She never even had time to see before she was swept away. _Were they dead?_ No… she would've heard their voices with the planet if that were so. The planet… in her time of need it was silent. _Why?_ She could not understand this, when all else failed the planet had always heeded her calls for help and assisted her. Now, Sephiroth, sworn enemy, had her hoisted over his shoulder like some prize he claimed from the victory for his own... and no one at all to help her.

A desperate scream erupted from her throat, so loud the air seemed to become thick and vibrate with a surge of unseen power, "Someone please help me!"

Sephiroth stopped for a brief moment at the change of energy in the air around him. He sensed it, that power; thought it was only small, maybe a small fraction of the girl's true power that lay locked inside of her. That coursed through her veins as vital as the pure blood that flowed through them. His brow furrowed slightly, just how much more power did this girl have that he could not sense? Another cry and the air became a little thicker; for the first time in many years, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Her power, if unlocked could very well surpass his own. The corner of his mouth twitched and a sly smirk slowly began to spread across his face. _I'll have to be a little more careful than I anticipated_ he thought. The smirk quickly began to turn to a sickly grin; _soon that power will be mine!_ On another sob, Aeris cried out and kicked with all her might.

"Call out as much as you like kitten, no one will heed your call." Though any blow she landed was nothing more than a pin-prick, he noted with some irritation that her flailing was slowing him down quite a deal. _ Damn her_ he thought as his eyes narrowed slightly, he never did like being late.

"Let me go you… you… cowardly SON-OF-A-BITCH!" Aeris blinked even as the words slipped off of her tongue and echoed into the dead of night. _Cid's wearing off on me…_

Sephiroth let out a long drawn out sigh, as much fun as it was to feel her heart race with fear, see the tears streaming down her cheeks, he grew wearisome, and it was a long, long way to go yet. "Enough of this…" Carelessly he lifted Aeris off of his shoulder, and tossed her hard onto the ground.

She let out a yelp of surprise as she landed on the ground, followed by a loud cry in pain, as a half buried jagged rock cut across the side of her skull, another punctured her leg. The blood trickled through her chestnut brown hair, warm and thick, down the side of her face. The agony was unbearable, it blinded her. Her head throbbed as she gasped for air and only one thought could clearly pass through her mind, to run. As she stood the sharp pain shot through her leg. A cry caught in her throat as she was nearly sent to her knees, _No… I have to run_... Adrenaline kicked in, she set her jaw, and despite the excruciating pain, she sprinted in her last attempt to run free from this man.

Sephiroth only smirked as he watched her weak attempt to run from him, _her resolve is admirable…the strength in her body extraordinary..._ He stood to admire for a moment, giving him the self satisfaction of watching his prey's energy change from fearful to hopeful before he took them down just as a cat toys with its. As her form became nothing more than a shadow in the distance, he lifted his hand straight in front of him, widening his palm so that all of his fingers were spread apart. Streams of blue energy began swirling and accumulating in the palm of his hand in a smoky, spiraling sphere; casting an eerie, ghostly glow across his face. As the smoky tendrils of power slipped into the orb, it began to pulse. His brilliant green eyes flashed with delight, focusing on the form of Aeris in the distance, he muttered one word. "Sleep."

As fast as the word left his mouth, the blue sphere spun rapidly in his hand changing color from blue to a bright, blinding white. Then a flash as it broke apart into several smaller spheres that spiraled around each other as they made their way to the target. A direct hit, the spell touched Aeris back and instantly absorbed into her body. She collapsed to the ground immediately, a limp heap, in a deep, dreamless sleep. Sephiroth slowly walked over to her, towering over her small form "Sleep well kitten."

On a laugh he picked her up and hoisted her on his shoulder again. He took one last look back in the direction from where he came; the blaze could still be seen on the horizon, no more than a deep crimson flicker. The wind blew bringing the faint scent of fire and blood. Sephiroth closed his eyes and took it all in, in one slow, deep breath. In the short span of time they proved to be formidable adversaries. That was good, that gave him some fun. Though in the end, as did everyone and everything on the planet, they had succumbed to his supremacy. No one was a match for the great and powerful Sephiroth! He had left them there, to burn in the inferno he had created. It was beautiful, the Chaos, the destruction, the petrified screams from the members of AVALANCHE. All these thoughts sent his blood pounding through his system. He was glad to be rid of them, the puppet to for with the girl he would have no use for any of them. And once she had served her purpose, he would reward her by sending her back to the planet to join her fallen comrades. "Time to pick up the pace!"

With Aeris no longer fighting back, Sephiroth took off into the dark night sky and with amazing speed, dashed off with Aeris firmly on his shoulder.

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The scene before him was a massacre, flames still feeding off of the surrounding trees and bushes that was the site of their camp for the night. His eyes stung and watered from the thick smoke, barely able to see two feet in front of him. Red coughed and squinted his eyes; all the while doing his best not to inhale too deeply as he desperately searched the remains for the last three remaining AVALANCHE members. Vincent, Barrett, Aeris. The three of them were the only ones still trapped in the inferno. Red cursed for not being able to sniff out their scents in this smoke.

The ground was hot and the once lush green grass now covered in blackened ash. The pads of his feet, now badly burned, ached and stung with each step he took. Patches of fur were soaked in blood or simply missing from where the flames had caught him. He felt his heart jump hopefully as the towering shadow of Barrett staggered out, carrying Vincent over his shoulder like a rag doll. Reds eyes widened at the sight.

"Vincent?..."

Barrett hung his head, eyes focused intently on the ground. He found he couldn't look his ally in the eye when he said what he had to say. The large mans eyes began to water. Red couldn't tell if it was from crying or if it was from the smoky air. Either way, his heart dropped in his chest as Barrett shook his head solemnly, a deep, regretful frown on his face. "Vincent….is okay… "

Red blinked, confused at why Barrett seemed to be so upset. When the man finally mustered up the ability to look him in the eye, the sorrow he found lying in them was all he needed to understand. Barrett didn't have Aeris. "Aeris? Where's Aeris? She was with you and Vincent wh-"

Red was cut off as the tree limb above them sent out a loud, warning crack. Both looked up to see that the fire had completely engulfed the tall and mighty oak next to them. The tree hissed and creaked out as if in pain just as the trunk of the tree made a large crack that echoed into the night; the tree started to tilt towards them, creaking its last warning. A brief look of concern passed between them before they full out sprinted away, just as the large tree came toppling over where they once stood, nearly hitting them on its way to the earth. They did not stop running until they were a safe distance away from the blaze.

Barrett grunted as his knees buckled slightly when they came to a stop. It was then that Red noticed that Barrett's legs, arms and face bore gashes the size of his paw and no telling how deep either, his left eye was swollen shut too. Looking more closely at Vincent he noticed that the man too was bleeding profusely from wounds that soaked through his clothing. Concern immediately washed over him for the two men.

"Barrett… wha-what happened?!"

"Sephiroth… took her… took her right from us Red… Vincent and I… couldn't do anything…" Barrett swallowed hard as another surge of pain shot up into his body like lightening. He shook violently but refused to be brought down to the ground like some weakling. He had failed her… after all she had done for him, protecting Marlene, he had failed Aeris and that thought hit home.

"He has her…" Red hung his head. Sorrow now too washed over him. Aeris… sweet, gentle Aeris in the clutches of Sephiroth. His eyes closed tightly as a single tear ran down his muzzle. For a while, the two of them said nothing, both staring sadly at the ground. An eternity seemed to pass twice over before Red looked up. He knew what was going through Barrett's mind and felt sympathy.

"It was not your duty alone to protect her Barrett…"

Barrett nodded, with his eyes narrowing slightly and his jaw set in place, "If anything happens to her I won' forgive myself…" His free hand clenched into a tight fist and shook from the strength coursing through his muscles. Red watched the anger rise in his friend.

"It's not your fault, Sephiroth was too tough for all of us and we were unprepared for the attack." He looked up thoughtfully into the night sky at the stars that twinkled happily despite the night's events. "And… if Sephiroth meant her harm… he could've done so in a flash here just as the rest of us. She's safe Barrett, I know she is…"

Barrett looked long and hard at Red, considering what he had said. He knew the cat spoke the truth. Determination took over sorrows place, there was no time to feel sorry for himself; Aeris was in trouble and he had sworn to her, to himself, that he would protect her and that's what he was going to do. "You're right Red. He would've done it already."

Knowing looks passed between both of them. Once they got back to the rest of the group, they would tell the others and they would hunt down Sephiroth. Aeris was a beloved friend to them all and to hell if they were going to let a slimy monstrosity like him have his clutches on her for any given amount of time. Both sets of eyes flashed with fierce determination as they nodded to each other and headed off to join the rest of the recuperating group, to give them the news and to make a plan.

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Cid tapped his foot impatiently as he kept a keen eye on the blaze, searching the distance for the shapes of lost comrades. He wiped the trickle of blood from the corner of his eye and cursed the wounds that, that Sephiroth had caused him. _Fucker…_ His jaw set and his knuckles began to turn white from clenched fists. He shook with anger, wanting to scream at the top of his lungs and damn the world for the events that occurred. Instead, quite the opposite of his normal behavior, he remained quiet and grinded his teeth nervously. _Damnit Red you should've been back by now!!_

Cid began to pace as he often did when his thoughts ran a mile a minute, standing still was too damn nerve racking. In his mind, he kept reenacting the madness of it all. The first large explosion that sent Cloud and Tifa soaring off into the distance; the maniacal glint in Sephiroth's eyes… The second explosion sent one of the large trees they had used as shade from the sun's rays that evening came crashing down to the ground, shaking it and blocking Cid from reaching Barrett, Vincent and Aeris. Before he could've made any move to leap over the blazing wood, Red had bounded over and called out for him to take the others far away from the destruction. Cid had wanted to protest, till a final burst of flames had nearly burned him alive on the spot…

He looked up to the sky, crossing his arms over his chest, unable to understand why such a strong man like Sephiroth would want to bother with a small group of people such as themselves. Tearing his gaze from the sky he looked down at Cloud, Tifa and Yuffie; all unconscious. And the body of Cait Sith, completely ruined save for the voice communication controls. Reeve promised he'd be sending out another shortly. Cid shook his head as the fury in him began to build up, faster and faster, boiling to the surface until he could no longer hold it in. A sting of profanity echoed through the night, all those from the book and some new ones to boot. When all was done, he took a deep breath in, calming the raving beast inside that just wanted to break out and tear apart everything in sight.

"Shit!" He kicked the dirt irritably, sending up a cloud of dust into the night breeze. Red was sure taking a long time. Another long period of silence passed before the darkened shapes of a man and a large cat began to form in the distance. Cid let his breath go in a long relieved sigh. Though, as the shapes approached and became more visible in the soft pale light of the moon, he noticed that there were only three of them, Vincent, passed out over Barrett's shoulder, Red limping next to them. The moment of relief quickly turned to panic.

"Where the fuck is Aeris?!?!" Cid waited for one of them to reply. To tell him that she was fine and tending to the wounds of some animal that had gotten caught in the fray or something like that. He didn't want to think of her as dead. He repeated himself, "Where…the fuck… is she…" His voice was low and shaky though he remained utterly still, waiting for the inevitable reply.

Barrett stared long and hard at Cid before lying the unconscious Vincent down on the ground next to the others. He didn't take his eyes off the ground at this point. When he spoke, his voice was barely audible, "Sephiroth took her… he has her and I-I…" When Barrett looked up his eyes were filled with tears. "I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Barrett collapsed to his knees and dug his fingers into the soil, crushing it in the palm of his hand. "After all she had done for me Cid…. She saved Marlene an' all… I let her down…"

Cid had to recompose himself. Things made a little more sense to why the attack on them was made now, though he didn't want to believe it. "So she's as good as dead then huh?"

Red shook his head, "No, not at all. If Sephiroth made the attempt to capture her and take only her away he does not intend to harm Aeris, this I know for sure. He needs her for something, what, I do not know." Red fidgeted the tip of his tail in his paws. "Though I fear once she has proven her use I cannot say what will happen to her… we must find her as soon as possible or the worst can be assumed…"

A groan came from Vincent as he slowly regained his consciousness. He rolled onto his stomach and slowly tried to push himself up. The pain brought with it recollection; eyes widened immediately as he jolted right up, "AERIS!" All three onlookers were astonished from the bold outburst of the normally silent Vincent. It didn't take long before he fell to his knees in defeat, first _her_… then Aeris… _Will I ever be able to protect those I care about?..._ The words echoed on endlessly through his mind, crimson eyes staring off blankly into the distance.

Cid cleared his throat bringing Vincent's attention back to reality as Cloud and Yuffie began to stir. "Listen Vincent…It'll do no good for us all to sit around here feeling sorry for out lazy asses. If we fuck off for too long Aeris could die. We need to st-"

"What do you mean Aeris will die? Where is she?" Cloud stumbled up onto his feet and swayed unsteadily. His entire body throbbed in a painful protest even as its owner stood in defiance. Cloud wasn't as tough as he looked however, and another excruciating spike of pain shot through his entire body, brining his down to his knees. "Oh for Christ's s-sakes… does anyone have a bl-bloody cure materia?!"

Without looking at Cloud, Vincent pulled a pale blue orb from his pocket and rolled it over to Cloud. "Its weak… but it'll heal the pain…"

Cloud reached out for the orb, clutching it tight in his hand. The tiny orb glowed brightly in response to the pressure, like a pale fluorescent light. Cloud muttered something quietly, as he did, the gentle glow of the orb transferred into his body. It was always a wondrous sight to see the cure materia work. The glow that surrounded the wounded was calming and angelic, and at this time, if you listened really closely, in the wind, the leaves, the twinkling stars in the night sky, the planet sung its hymn of healing. Slowly, Cloud staggered upright as the ethereal glow subsided from his body, the healing process complete.

On a sigh, Cloud brushed off some of the dust on his knees and bounced on the balls of his feet, "Much, much better." He glanced around at the remained of the group and raised a brow quizzically, the rest of them were still very wounded from head to toe, "I couldn't have been the only person to think of healing themselves now right?" All nodded half-heartedly and took their turns using the materia. He allowed himself one smile before grave features set in on his face. "Now what's this about Aeris going to die? Did the cure materia not work on her? Where is she?" Cloud glimpsed around them all, and then turned around to see if Aeris was behind him. Each direction he looked off in he became more frantic.

"She isn't dead right? Right?!"

Vincent, keeping his back turned to Cloud, took in a deep breath, "No she isn't dead Cloud."

"Then where the hell is she Vince?!"

Vincent winced at the shortened version of his name. He never did like it. Despite this, he kept his tone calm and level."Sephiroth has her."

Cloud blinked and stood dumbfounded for a split second, "What did you say?" His voice was barely a whisper.

"I said Sephiroth has her, use your ears for once."

Cloud dropped to his knees, _Sephiroth has her, Sephiroth has her, Sephiroth has her!_ The saying repeated itself over and over again. A sharp pain exploded in his head and his vision blurred into white. Cloud grabbed his head tightly in his hands as if attempting to control the white hot surge of agony that pulsed through his mind. _"Looks like I win again puppet."_ Maniacal laughter followed and reverberated loudly. Cloud shook his head, "No, no no n-" A loud clap of a smack interrupted his trance and Cloud put a hand to his burning cheek.

Tifa glared down at him, her fists balled up in rage _When did she wake up? _ He thought, though he didn't have much time to react; another back-hand smack sent him toppling over.

"Get a hold of yourself Cloud! Aeris is in trouble, now is not the time to be sitting around moping about. That attitude is only going to get her killed you hear me?" Her eyes we're filled with tears, though Aeris was her competition with the man that stared at her baffled, she was still her friend.

It took Cloud a few moments to recompose himself, when he finally stood, he embraced Tifa tightly to comfort her, "She isn't going to die Tifa." Tifa only nodded. His mind began to race a mile a minute after he let her go, eyes trailing over one group member to the next. "Okay… enough sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves; Aeris needs our help and now. We've already given Sephiroth way too much time to have his filthy hands on her." The sun slowly began to rise in the distance, bringing with it the birth of a new day, a new start. "He got the better of us last night but he made one mistake," Cloud continued on as the plan he was formulating in his head continued to play out, "He thought he had killed us, he thinks we're dead. This gives up the upper hand! He won't expect us to come for her and when we do he won't be ready! We'll get Aeris back and get rid of Sephiroth once and for all! Listen closely… here's the plan…"

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A/N: Yes, this is the first chapter re-written to add a little more pizzazz, a little more cream filling in the gaps I left behind for those of you that remember the old one. It'll be pretty much the same with just some missing details added in for plot, and I plan to continue as best as I can since year after year the urge to continue to write this story have been scratching at the back of my head. Writers block can be a real bitch when it wants to lol. Currently upgrading Chapter Two.


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